Page 77 of Too Hard to Resist

When I spotted him in a black car, butterflies filled my stomach.

As usual, he looked hotter than a bucket of chilli sauce.

Romeo’s eyes connected with mine, then his face broke into a wide smile. He jumped out of the car and headed towards me.

‘Ciao.’ He kissed my cheeks.

‘Ciao,’ I said as his manly, woody scent surrounded me.

After opening the door for me we both slid into our seats then Romeo set off.

We chatted easily about what we’d done earlier and less than ten minutes later we pulled outside a cute stone building. Romeo unlocked the front door then invited me inside.

‘This is nice,’ I said as the scent of earthy clay hit my nostrils.

There were multiple potter’s wheels and tables dotted around the room. The shelves were decorated with colourful bowls, plates, vases and other items that I guessed had been made in the studio and there was a large kiln at the back. ‘What are you making today?’

‘You mean, what arewemaking today,’ he corrected.

‘I’ve never done pottery before.’

‘There is a first time for everything. Here.’ He plucked an apron off the wall. ‘I brought you some clothes to change into. It can get messy and you do not want to ruin your beautiful dress.’

‘Grazie,’ I said as he pulled out an oversized T-shirt and an old pair of trousers.

‘The bathroom is at the back.’

I went inside, slipped out of my dress, picked up the T-shirt, lifted it to my nose then squeezed my eyes shut and groaned. It smelt delicious, just like Romeo. Once I put it on, I wasn’t sure if I’d want to give it back.

I slid it over my head. It was so big that it came almost to my knees. When I tried the trousers on, they were too long. I’d end up tripping over them, so I took them off. The T-shirt wasn’t that much shorter than my dress, so with that and the apron I’d be fine.

When I returned to the main area, Romeo was setting things up by the wheel.

‘Sit here.’ He gestured to the stool. ‘I’m going to teach you.’

‘Okay!’ I sat down. ‘So how did you get into pottery?’

‘My grandparents used to do it. There is a lot of clay in Puglia and towns like Grottaglie are famous for their ceramic pottery.’

‘Cool. So what arewemaking today?’

‘I want to make a new bowl for my mamma. I went to see her earlier and I will see her again on Tuesday, so I would like to bring her something.’

‘Awww, that’s so sweet.’ My stomach fluttered. ‘We’d better make it good then. How’s Biscotti?’

Romeo’s eyes widened like he was surprised I’d remembered she was ill.

‘She is much better,grazie.’ His face lit up.‘I appreciate you asking.’

‘No worries! I’m glad she’s on the mend.’

Romeo put the clay on the wheel and explained how I should try and mould it with my hands.

Unsurprisingly, my first few attempts were disasters. But I was determined that the next try would be a masterpiece. Well, decent enough anyway.

‘Like this.’ Romeo reached from behind me and laced his fingers with mine. As he showed me how to shape the wet clay, electricity rocketed through my body.

‘Mmm.’ A moan slipped from my mouth. ‘Are you deliberately trying to recreate the scene fromGhost?’

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